Wagon.



W. L. DEMPSEY.

WAGON.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1914.

Patented May 22, 1917.

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WAGON.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-12 914- 1,226,867. Patented May 22, 1917.

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WILLIAM In. DEMPSEY, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

WAGON.

, Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 12, 1914. Serial No. 871,828.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. DEMPsEY, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Somerville, in the county of Middlesex andCommonwealth of Massachusetts,-have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Wagons, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact specification. One of the inherent defects-in the ordinary farmand business wagon is the considerable height to which the produce andmerchandise must be lifted in loading the same thereon. Attempts havebeen made to avoid such defect by lowering the wagon body, employing forsuch purpose a drop axle. While the latter provides the low bodydesired, it introduces a weakness which goes far to offset the advantageobtained.

This-weakness arises from the fact that all such drop axles haveheretofore been constructed from Wrought iron, with the result thatafter heav and continued use the iron gradually yiel s until the wheelsspread outwardly at their points of contact with the ground, andapproach the wagon body at.

their upper peripheries.

This is ob ectionable, both from the point of view of appearance, andfrom the practical. poiht of interference with the load beingtransported, and from the presentation of an edge of the tires to theground, instead of an even tread.

Another objection found to exist in the present type of low, or jigger,wagon, is the difiiculty of greasing the axles, owingto the fact that itis very diflicult to get a lifting jack beneath the low axles; and 'afurther objection is the impossibility of turning the wagon about exceptin a very large circle.

The purpose of this invention is the construction of a wagon which shallavoid all these difliculties; whose axles will not warp and twist and socause the pitch and gather of the wheels to be lost and the wheels torun hard and cramp upon the axles; whose axles will be provided withease repositories adapted in a moment to eliver lubricant to the axlesand to a limited extent automatically delivered, without even stoppingthe wagon, much less removing the wheels; which can be turned in a smallcompass, and whose thills or tongues will not thrash the Referring tothe drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a si eelevation, one half in section, of a drop axle der to be ofmaximum-rigidity. The arm 3' is webbed in order to be 'of maximumstrength with a minimum of metal.

The thimble 2 is square in cross section,

Patented May 22, 1917. I

and a Wooden axle 4.- is used for joining the opposing crank skeins, theends of the wooden axle being squared to fit tightly within thethimbles, and

by hydraulic pressure.

The advantage in this having the thimbles and axle square is thetorsional rigidity obtained. Were the thimbles cylindrical and areforced therein held from turning on the axle by a bolt or rivet alone,the rigidity would be much less and dependent entirely on the bolt andwhat friction might remain. 5 j I I prefer to make the frame 5 of thewagon the ears 6 ofv the rear thimble arms 3, as indicated in Figs. 1and 2. While this matefrially adds to the strength of the skeins, I

2 body from angle iron and to bolt thereto of each skein and having itsends bolted or rivetedto the frame 5, as shown in Fig. 3. The portion ofeach strap bent over the butt 9 is given a hole entered by a lug 10 castas a part of the skein, so that the expense is reduced to a minimum,while the crank skeins are very strongly braced thereby.

Each skein is cast hollow, with a cylindrical hole 11 extending eitherentirely through the same longitudinally, or half way in, a wooden plug12 being used to fill the outer half of'the hole when made clear throughthe skein. Rising from the inner end of the hole 11 at the mid-length ofthe skein is a small feed-hole 13 termlnating in a groove 14 traversingthe skein longitudinally. Thehole 11 being internally threaded andprovided with a screw plug 15 adapted to be turned by a square boss 16,the hole is filled with grease and the screw plug, introduced therein tokeep the lubricant in the 35 than the rear portion in order to permitthe front wheels and axle to be swung far eter, not only is spaceallowed for an ample supply of grease, but an extended wearing surfaceis given, which, being thus kept constantly lubricated, insures easyrunning and great durability.

It sometimes happens that the driver omits to screw in the plugs whenthe grease gets scanty upon the skeins, and consequently the latter willbegin to warm up. I therefore form one s or more holes 18 through theunder part of each skein so that, the grease being partially liquefiedby the warmth, will percolate down to the exterior surface of the skeinsand thereby automatically provide the needed lubrication.

Since the wagon body seldom rises to the height of the screw plugs 15,the latter can be easily reached by a suitable wrench for manipulation;while, even if the body-sides 1 do rise higher than specified, a-holecan be bored through the same in alinement with said plug.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, the front section of the body frame 5 must bemade narrower enough to permit the wagon to turn in a comparativelysmall circle. For enabling this to be made as wide as possible for thesame radius of turning circle, and also to diminish the lateral'thrashinof the wagon tongue 17, I fasten to the rent axle 19 a plate or frame 20extending rearwardly therefrom to a considerable distance, and in'thisplate and spaced from said axle is a hole 21 forthe reception of theking-bolt which is held by the wagon body.

Since the weight of the body on the front axle cannot be takenby theportion of the .bolster-plate immediately surrounding the king-bolt, butwill be sustained directly by vthe axle, I provide the axle with twoslightly tapering rolls 23 rotatablv carried by the bolster plate andsupporting the fifth-wheel 24. Otherwise the friction between the fifthwheel and the axle will he too great to permit easy turning. 1

At the rear end of the plate 20 is a third tapering roll 25 which by itsupward pressure against the fifth wheel, supports the weight of thewagon-tongue 17 which is rigidly connected with the front axle.

In this manner a drop axle wagon is produced in which the front wheelscan be substantially as large as the rear wheels, and

the wagon can still be readily turned, the tongue or thills will notthrash the horses since the king-bolt is so far behind the line of thefront wheels tread, the wheels can be easily lubricated, and the crankskeins will not bend.

What I claim is:

1. A low wagon comprising crank axles having skeins of relatively largediameter, integral arms depending respectively from said skeins andthimbles of greater cross sectional area than that of said skeinsintegral with said arms, said thimbles being longitudinally apertured toreceive the=ends of the axle and presenting angularly disposed wallsadapted to engage the faces of the axle and to prevent rotation thereof.

2. A low wagon comprising crank axles having skeins of relatively largediameter, integral arms depending respectively from said skeins, andthimbles of greater cross sectional area than that of said skeinsintegral with said arms and extending beyond said arms Well beneath themid-lengths of said skeins, said thimbles being longitudinally aperturedthroughout their length to receive the ends of an axle and presentingangularly disposed walls adapted to engage the faces of the axle and toprevent rotation thereof.

3. In a low wagon, a crank axle comprising a skein of relatively largediameter, an integral arm depending therefrom and a thimble having alongitudinal aperture presenting angularly disposed walls to receive theend of the axle, said thimble being of greater cross sectional area thanthat of the skein whereby a relatively large axle may be employed. 4. Ina low wagon, a wooden axle having ends presenting angular faces,thimbles provided with longitudinal apertures corresponding in form tothe ends of said axle tightly secured upon the same, arms integral withand extending vertically from said thimble and skeins extendingoutwardly from the upper ends of said arm in parallel axial alinementwith the axis of said thimbles, each of said skeins being provided withan internal recess forming a lubricant receptacle; a duct leading fromsaid grease receptacle to the surface of said skein, means operable fromthe inner end of the skein for forcing the lubricant through the ductand means for securing wheels upon said skeins.

5. An axle arm for a low drop wa on comprising a thimble having alongitudi al aperture angular in cross section, an integral arm risingfrom said thimble intermediate of its ends, a skein extending laterallyfrom the upper end of said arm integral therewith, said skein beingcentrally bored from its inner end and screw threaded to form alubricant receptacle, a duct lead- In testimony that I claim theforegoing ing from said receptacle to the surface of invention, I havehereunto set my hand this the skein, and a screw threaded plunger ,11thday of November, 1914.

having means adapted to be engaged by a WILLIAM L. DEMP SEYQ rotatingmember sustained in said lubricant Witnesses: receptacle and adapted toforce the lubri- A. B. UPHAM,

cant through said duct. .JosEPH W. Doyvns.

